Record controlled counting circuits



March 13, 1956 H. HENKE 2,733,131

RECORD CONTROLLED COUNTING cmcuns Filed April 1, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1LT} 7 fig 3 4 12 0 O5 O6 1 l 07 Q pa i i Jig 2 u b c d e f g h March 13,1956 H. HENKE RECORD CONTROLLED COUNTING cmcums 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledApril 1. 1950 r/vVE/vrae flew/Vail flew/ti United States Patent RECORDCONTROLLED COUNTING cmcurrs Hermann Henke, Stein am Rhine, SwitzerlandApplication April 1, 1950, Serial No-..153,354

Claims priority, application Switzerland February 1, 1950 7 Claims. (Cl.235-6111) The present invention relates to an arrangement for theevaluation of data marked by perforations, in particular on perforatedcards and the like. The arrangement according to the present inventionis characterized in. that for the simultaneous grasping orregistering-of" the data of at least two perforations in at least onedefinite combination pairs of electric contacts are actuated tocooperate with said perforations, all of said contacts being connectedin series with one of the evaluation circuits associated with therespective combination.

Thus for example it is possible to select or count in one operation allthose perforated cards from a number of such cards having simultaneouslyseveral data in a. definite combination. I

The essence of the present invention and several exam ples of embodimentof the object of said invention are described with reference to thedrawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perforated card in one form of execution of the inventionshowing pre-printed spaces in each of which a hole has been punched,

Fig. 2 illustrates several possible combinations of holes on a cardaccording to Fig. 1,

2,738,131 Patented Mar. 13, 1956 2 a perforation in area 8 protestant,etc. The card a according to Fig. 2'in this case contains the data:masculine, Swiss, while for example the card 0 has the data feminine,foreigner, single etc.

If the task is given to count the cards in a large number of suchcardswhich for instance bear thecombinecl data masculine, single, thenall thecards having a perforation in the areas 1' and 5 must be countedindependently of the fact of whether they simultanously have furtherperforations-- or not. Of the: cardsshown in Fig. 2 the cards b andfcome under those sought, but none of the other cards illustrated. Thecounti'ngof the cards with the desired, definite combinationofperforations 1-5 can be carried out in a single operation by means ofthe arrangement described. hereafter and illustrated diagrammatically inFig. 3.,

' The arrangement. has a guide for the perforated cards (not shown), aswell as two. scanners A1 and A5 respectively', associated withtheperforations 1 andS coming into consideration, said scanners takingthe shape of pairs of electric contacts which close when the scannedcard actually has the perforations.v I and 5'. The two scanning contactsA1 and A5 are connected in series in an evaluation current circuit. inwhich a counter Z is further connected, said counter responding to thepassage of acur- 7 rent and being connected to a current source (not.shown) Fig. 3 illustrates diagrammatically a first example of embodimentof an arrangement for evaluation, by wayof example for counting thecards with a definite combination of data given by two perforations,

Fig; 4 illustrates a second example of embodiment of an arrangement forthe simultaneous counting of the cards with two combinations of datagiven by two perforations each, one perforation and data being containedin bo combinations, and

Fig. '5 shows a further example of embodiment of the arrangement for thesimultaneous counting of all combinations of data given by threeperforations.

A form of execution of a perforated card 10 shown by way of example inFig. 1 is provided with nine preprinted areas 11 to which the numerals1-9 are assigned which numerals can also be printed on the card. In theareas 11 perforations can be provided as required in the manner knownfor such perforated cards, each of said perforations representing adefinite index or data. On the card shown in Fig. 1 one to nineperforations in a total of 511 different combinations or generallyspeaking in 2"-1 combinations can be applied, n being the number ofareas 11 provided for the reception of a perforation each.

Several of the combinations of perforations possible on the cardaccording to Fig. 1 are shown in Fig. 2 in the alternatives a-h.

If the perforations present in the cards are to give definite datarelating to a census of people and to individual persons respectively, aperforation in area. l-of the card can by way of example have themeaning of masculine, a perforation in area 2 feminine, a perforation inarea 3 Swiss, a perforation, in area 4 foreigner," a perforation in area5 single," at perforation in area 6 married," a perforation in area7widowedfif by means of the terminals 12' and 13.

The counter Z advances by one unit. every time the two scanning contactsA1 and A5 close simultaneously, i. e; when a card is being, scannedhaving the two, perforations land 5.

In the same operation other. combinations not. conflicting with thefirst combinationrcanbe.counted, in a similar manner by separatecounters, such. as. the combinations 23-4 or 6'-78"-9 etc., it being of.importance that all pairs of scanningcontacts. belonging, to onecombination ofperforations selected are connected in serieswith aseparate counter associated with. this,v combination: of perforationsand to a common or separate source. of current. 1

Instead of the counters Z other electrically controlling apparatus canbe connected with the individual evaluation current circuits, as by wayof example such apparatus as will cause the cards having the desiredcombinations. of perforations to be sorted out.

In Fig. 4 another example of embodiment of the ,arrangement for theevaluation of thedata given by'perforations is diagrammatically shownvwith. which arrangement also combinations of perforations overlapping:one another can be embraced simultaneously, i; e.. in a singleoperation, in separate: evaluation; current. circuits, namely suchcombinations having; one or severalperforations. in

common, such. as by way: of example the combinations 1-5 with the.meaning masculine, single and 5--8 with the meaningv single, protestant.Three scanners A1, A5 and A8 associated withtheperforations 1, 5 and 8take. the shape of pairs of electric contacts and each pair isconnected. in: an excites current: circuit of an electro magnet M1, M5and M8..- Acurrentsource (not shown) is connected to-thenterminal' s'14-an'd 15. The armature of the magnet M1 is in operative connectionwith a;

switches 26, 27 and 31 are closed. Thus the counter Z-8 receives acurrent impulse which advances said counter by one unit, while thecurrent circuit to the counter Z1-5 is kept interrupted by the switch22. In an analogous manner the operation of the counter 21-5 takes placewhen the scanning contacts A1 and A5 close. If the scanning contacts A1,A5 and A8 are simultaneously closed, each of the two counters Z5-8 and21-5 are advanced by one unit corresponding to the two combinations 5-8and 1-5 contained on the perforated card.

The wiring diagram of an alternative to the arrangement described isshown in Fig. 5 by means of which it is possible to evaluate allcombinations feasible with three perforations in a single operationindependently of one another in an individual counter each.

According to the formula 2"-1 seven combinations are possible when usingthe three perforations 1, 5 and 8, namely: 1-58, 1-5, 58, l-8, l, 5 and8, a separate counter Z158, Z1--5, Z5-8, Z1-8, Z1, Z5 and Z8,respectively, being provided for each of these combinations. A group offour switches each 21-24, 25-28 and 29-32, respectively, is associatedwith each of the magnets M1, M5 and M8. The switches 21, 25 and 29 areconnected in series with the counter Z158 and the source of currentconnected to the terminals 16, 17. The switches 22 and 26 are connectedin series with the counter Z1-5, the switches 23 and 30 with the counterZ1-8 and the switches 27 and 31 with the counter Z5-8. The switch 24 isconnected in series with the counter Z1, the switch 28 with the counterZ5 and the switch 32 with the counter Z8. The exciter current circuitsof the three electromagnets is the same as shown in Fig. 4.

The method of operation of this arrangement is analogous to that shownin Fig. 4, the counter Z1 counting all cards having a perforation inarea 1, the counter Z1-8 by way of example all cards with theperforations 1 and 8 etc., all this being done in a single operation.Since the perforations l, 5 and 8 have, according to the assumption madethe meaning masculine, single and protestant respectively, all cardswith the following data and combined data are counted separately in oneoperation by means of the arrangement described:

1. Masculine,

2. Single,

. Protestant,

Masculine, single,

Masculine, protestant,

6. Single, protestant,

7. Masculine, single, protestant.

form the desired combinations in such a manner thatthe contactscooperating with the scanners of the perforations used in a, combinationalways are in series with the evaluation current circuit comprising acounter or some other evaluation apparatus. By the use of plug in cablesit is then possible to embrace all possible 2"l combinations or only adefinite number thereof, the number of the simultaneously embracedcombinations being determined by the number of existing evaluationapparatus, such as counters.

The speed of operations of the evaluation cycle can be adapted to anydesired requirements. "For the counting of up to 2500 cards per hour,they can' be laid under a scanning contact device by hand, the scannersin said device being capable of being brought into and out of theiroperative position, respectively, by being lifted 05 or lowered on tothe lower contact elements. For greater operational speeds the scannersare to be built in such a manner that they continuously bear resilientlyagainst their lower contacts and that the cards or counting strips' etc.to be evaluated pass through below the scanners in a continuoussequence. In this case, however, a checking device must be providedwhich ensures that an evaluation only takes place when the perforationsare placed below the scanners in the correct position for counting.

By way of example such a checking device is shown in Fig. 5. Said devicecomprises two additional scanning contacts B1 and B2 each of which isarranged in the exciter current circuit of an electromagnet N1 and N2respectively. The armature of the magnet N1 is adapted for the operationof a switch 33 open in the position of rest, and the armature of themagnet N2 for the operation of a switch 34 closed in the position ofrest, said two switches being connected in series and being put intocircuit in the feed line of the evaluation current circuit byinterrupting the current circuit of the counters between the twoterminals x and x. As a source of current for the excitation of theelectromagnets N1 and N2 the source of current connected to theterminals 14 and 15 can be used, if the terminals y and y, and z and z,respectively, are connected to each other.

The operation of this checking device consists in that the scanningcontacts B1 must remain closed and the scanning contacts B2 open, if anevaluation is to take place, i. e. both the switches 33 and 34 mustsimultaneously be closed. The cards and the counting strip respectivelymust have a perforation for the scanning contact B1 in its correctscanning position, however, no perforation for the scanner B2. If duringpassage both pairs of scanning contacts B1 and B2 remain closed or, onthe other hand, both open, then the source of current connected to theterminals 16, 17 is interrupted at one pole from the evaluation currentcircuit so that no evalua: tion can take place.

In a like manner more than two checking scanning contacts can beprovided. I

The checking device can be adapted to co-act with an automatic stopmotion device which immediately stops the machine, if a card or thecounting strip is positioned wrongly under the scanners. Such a stopmotion device known in the art is not shown in the drawing.

With the electro-magnetic counters known at present about 10 currentimpulses can be counted in a second, i. e. about 36,000 in an hour whichin the present case would be equal to the counting of 36,000 cards perhour. If by way of example a combination counting machine with 1000counters were used for the evaluation of the results of a census ofpeople, 10,000 combinations per second and 360,000,000 combinations perhour could be counted.

In the examples of embodiment simple pairs of electromagnetic contactsare used as scanners, and the switches are likewise of theelectro-magnetic type. For higher operating speeds than those mentionedabove, however, electro-optical scanners and switches or electronicswitches could also be utilized.

The arrangement described is not only suitable for the evaluation of thedata on perforated cards, counting strips, etc., but also on all objectsprovided with perforations, notches, etc., and due to its simplicity andrapid method of operation can with advantage also be used in the postalmoney order service, in ticket issuing oflices of transport concerns, inmanufacturing and im dustrial concerns, in administrations, instatistical offices as well as for the evaluation of the collecteddocuments in research etc. I What I claim and wish to secure by LettersPatent is:

1. A device for the evaluation of data indicated by perforations whichare formed on cards in at least two definite combinations, comprising asensing element cooperating with each of said perforations for the simultaneous sensing of the data indicated by said perforations, andelectro-responsive switch means respectively connected to said sensingelements, each switch means be ing operable in response to the sensingof data by the corresponding sensing element, each of saidelectroresponsive switch means including at least one contact means,some of said contact means of at least a pair of said electro-responsiveswitch means being in series to provide a first evaluation circuitcorresponding to one combination, other of said contact means of saidpair of electro-responsive switch means being in series with contactmeans of at least another of said electro-responsive switch means toprovide a second evaluation circuit independent of said first circuitand corresponding to the other combination.

2. A device for the evaluation of data indicated by perforations whichare formed on cards in at least two definite combinations, comprising asensing element cooperating with each of said perforations for thesimultaneous sensing of the data indicated by said perforations, andelectro-responsive switch means respectively connected to said sensingelements, each switch means being operable in response to the sensing ofdata by the corresponding sensing element, each of saidelectroresponsive switch means including at least one contact means,some of said contact means of at least a pair of said electroresponsiveswitch means being connected to provide a first evaluation circuitcorresponding to one combination, other of said contact means of saidpair of electro-responsive switch means being connected with contactmeans of at least another of said electroresponsive switch means toprovide a second evaluation circuit independent of said first circuitand corresponding to the other combination.

3. A device for the evaluation of data indicated by perforations whichare formed on cards in at least two definite combinations, comprising apair of electric scanning elements cooperating with each of saidperforations for the simultaneous sensing of the data indicated by saidperforations, and electro-responsive switch means respectively connectedto each pair of electric scanning elements, each switch means includingat least one contact means and being operable in response to the sensingof data by the corresponding pair of electric scanning elements, some ofsaid contact means of at least a pair of said electro-responsive switchmeans being connected in .series to provide an evaluation circuitcorresponding to one combination, others of said contact means of saidpair of electro-rcsponsive switch means being connected in series withanother of said electro-responsive switch means to provide anotherevaluation circuit independent of said first circuit and correspondingto the other combination, and a counter in each of said evaluationcircuits counting the number of recurrences of the respectivecombinations.

4. A device according to claim 1, including electroresponsive checkmeans connected in each of said evaluation circuits and rendering thelatter inefiective when said perforations are not in a predeterminedposition with respect to said sensing elements.

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein said electroresponsive checkmeans includes two additional sensing elements, one of said twoadditional sensing elements cooperating with a special perforationformed on said card, the other of said additional sensing elements beinglocated to coact with an area of said card devoid of any perforation,and switch means connected in each of said evaluation circuits andresponsive to said additional sensing elements for selectively renderingthe respective evaluation circuit ineffective, said switch meansincluding a normally open contact means operable in response to sensingby said one additional sensing element, and a normally closed contactmeans operable in response to sensing by said other additional sensingelement.

6. In a device for the evaluation of data indicated by erforations whichare found in cards in at least two definite combinations; first circuitmeans provided with sensing contacts connected in parallel,electromagnetic means connected in series with each of said sensingcontacts, respectively, of said first circuit means, saidelectromagnetic means being energized upon actuation of said sensingcontacts, second circuit means for effecting said evaluations andprovided with at least two switch means operable by said electromagneticmeans, respectively, each of said switch means being provided withcontact means and at least one of said switch means being provided withat least two of said contact means, and a plurality of counter meansconnected in parallel in said second circuit means, each of said contactmeans of said one switch means being in series with contact means ofanother of said switch means, respectively, and one of said countermeans, respectively, to provide at least two parallel evaluationcircuits for said data corresponding to predetermined combinations ofsaid perforations.

7. In a device according to claim 6, third circuit means for checkingthe operation of said evaluation circuits and provided with sensingcontacts cooperating with a predetermined card perforation, furtherelectromagnetic means connected in parallel with said first circuitmeans, and further switch means operable by said last mentionedelectromagnetic means and connected in series with said second circuitmeans, one of said further switch means being normally open, another ofsaid further switch means being normally closed, whereby upon improperpositioning of at least one of said cards said second circuit means isrendered inoperative so that the data of said one card is not evaluated.

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